The White House said Tuesday that the US and South Korea are stepping up cooperation and preparing a coordinated response to any potential “nuclear use” by North Korea.
According to AFP, a National Security Council spokesperson said President Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol have “tasked their teams to plan for an effective coordinated response to a range of scenarios, including nuclear use by North Korea.”
The comments came after Yoon said that the US and South Korea were in talks on expanding cooperation to include US nuclear forces in joint military exercises. Yoon said he received positive feedback from the US about the proposal, but President Biden sparked some confusion when he replied “no” after being asked if the US and South Korea were discussing joint nuclear drills.
The NSC spokesperson insisted Biden said “no” because the US and South Korea can’t technically hold “joint nuclear exercises” since Seoul is not a nuclear-armed state. But either way, joint US-South Korean drills that would include US nuclear forces would be highly provocative toward Pyongyang and ratchet up tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
Yoon’s office also responded to Biden’s answer and said talks on the issue were underway. “South Korea and the United States are in talks over information-sharing, joint planning and the joint implementation plans that follow, in relation to the operation of US nuclear assets, to respond to North Korea’s nuclear weapons,” a spokeswoman for Yoon said.
A senior Biden administration official confirmed to AFP that the US and South Korea are working on expanding military cooperation. The official said the two countries “are working together to strengthen extended deterrence, including eventually through table-top exercises that will explore our joint response to a range of scenarios, including nuclear use.”
The official added that the increased cooperation is “consistent with President Yoon’s comment that the United States and the ROK (South Korea) will expand planning, information sharing, exercises, and training.”
Yoon’s revelation of the US-South Korean talks came after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ordered the “exponential” increase of Pyongyang’s nuclear arsenal. Throughout 2022, North Korea launched a record number of missile tests as the US and South Korea resumed major war games. The Biden administration has shown no interest in de-escalating tensions and began sending bombers to the Korean Peninsula again for the first time since 2017.
US officials have also made nuclear threats against North Korea, with Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman warning in October the US would use all its capabilities to defend allies against Pyongyang, including “nuclear, conventional and missile defense.”
Do any of these people believe in holding direct talks with each other to help allievate such possibilities?
I was relieved to get rid of Trump, now I feel the same way about Biden. They seem to be reading the same playbook…
Are we inclined to be prophetic? Trying to decide who does what to whom and when?………………………
Bye-Done is losing my patience…
Technology provides, usually, the deciding factor in war: longer spears, composite bows, artillery, tanks, carpet-bombing, etc. But human nature doesn’t change. So the fearless, feckless leaders of the “free,” “democratic,” “rational,” “not-Russia” world will inevitably use technology to prove how moxy they are. This is macho display on a world-killing level.
These “leaders” appear to have no clear idea about the atomic bombs used almost 80 years ago beyond the black and white pix in high school textbooks. And they seem to think these are the same kind of bombs we have nowadays. But in actuality current nukes are at minimum 100 times more powerful. (You’d think Korea would have a deeper understanding of this, wouldn’t you?)
But, hey, the bombs in WWII ended the Pacific War, right? And the Pacific Region re-emerged, stronger than ever, so how bad could nukes be?
So, human nature being what it is, these “leaders” will continue down the primrose path thinking ‘just tactical nukes” and “we’re just being self-defensive here.” Technology has now definitively outstripped the ability of human nature to deal with it rationally.
The aliens are watching, wondering how long it will be before the planet is inhabitable, post pending events.
I think Agnieszka is not keeping up on recent nuclear developments.
Elucidate please.
The Russian supernuke: 200 medatons. It is probably a game changer. Nobody wants one of them to go off on them. 4000 times the blast of the bomb that ended WWII… & don’t forget their unstoppable hypirsonic delivery systems things that could easily be game changers.
My response will be to evaporate, have my vapors fly up in a nuclear fireball to 30,000 feet and then spread myself gently over the globe
US, South Korea Preparing Response to ‘Nuclear Use’ by North Korea
Of course: North Korea Preparing Response to ‘ Nuclear Use’ by USA and South Korea.
Bad North Korea, don’t they know the USA is the most peaceful nation on earth?
It is the land of milk and honey for all, and nothing but freedom and democracy, heavenly.
Wendy Sherman was open about it, the Americans made nuclear threats against N. Korea without consulting S. Korea. S. Korea too is still an American occupied country, just like Germany, but N. Korea is sovereign and is in charge of its nuclear arsenal.
Why on earth are the ruthless, war crazy Americans go on stoking the fire for more wars? What is wrong with them? They are a global danger.
I’ve said for awhile that the neocons may actually want to see Seoul nuked in order to free up use of the Israeli nuclear arsenal. If that’s the actual method behind their madness the South Koreans had better wake up to it.
I feel compelled to ask but why can’t they all have a sit down and come up with an all inclusive plan with NK to avoid such negative outcomes?
What does NK need? Surely they must need something. Dangle some carrots…
HhhhhhMMMNmmnm “nuclear use..???” Does turning on an electric light powered by nuclear energy constitute “nuclear use”? How about nuclear detonation to define what requires some response. “Let’s B clear” on what can & cannot start WWIII…